How to Plant Pepper Seeds

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How to Plant Pepper Seeds

Overview

Planting your own peppers is not only cost-effective, it puts a wider selection of organic peppers at your fingertips than what you would normally find in a grocery store. To successfully grow peppers from seeds, you should begin germinating the seeds inside during the late winter and transplant the peppers outside come spring.

Step 1

Fill a grow tray with seed starter mix or a mixture of equal parts potting soil, vermiculite and sand. Plant the pepper seeds one-fourth inch deep in each section of the grow tray, water until moist and cover the tray with plastic wrap.

Step 2

Place the grow tray where it will receive at least six hours of sunlight each day, whether outside or on an interior windowsill. If there is nowhere in or outside your house that gets six hours of sunlight per day, use grow lights on the grow tray.

Step 3

Keep the seeds warm. Pepper seeds will germinate best in temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees. The sunlight should provide sufficient heat during the day, but peppers may need to be moved somewhere that provides extra heat, such as the top of the refrigerator, overnight.

Step 4

Remove the plastic wrap when the seedlings begin to form. If the seedlings stop developing once the plastic is removed, place the entire tray in a large, clear plastic bag and tie the bag airtight to create a greenhouse-type effect.

Step 5

Replant the seedlings in individual containers, filling to one-fourth inch from the top, or directly into the ground for the summer growing season. Keep ground-planted seedlings at least 18 inches apart and apply fertilizer around the base of the plant.

Things You'll Need

Grow tray

Seed starter mix or soil, vermiculite and sand

Plastic wrap

Pot

Grow lights

Fertilizer

References

Pepper Joe

Urbanext.illinois.edu

Keywords:
pepper seeds, plant, seedlings

About this Author

Alexis Lawrence has been writing professionally for six years and has been published on Associated Content. She is also a freelance filmmaker and photographer with extensive experience in digital video, book publishing and graphic design. Lawrence attended the University of Central Florida where she earned a Bachelor of Science in English.